The Ministry of Defence has come under fresh criticism after spending millions
of pounds on rented homes for Armed Forces personnel, even though it has
thousands of properties standing empty.

MoD figures show the ministry is spending £1.8 million each month renting family homes. Another £3.8 million goes on accommodation for single service personnel.

The rental bill comes to £5.6 million a month, or £67.2 million a year.

The National Audit Office earlier this year found that 17 per cent – 8,500 – of the 50,000 homes in the main MoD estate are standing empty, costing taxpayers millions of pounds a year.

The MoD, which has promised to reduce its empty property rate to 10 per cent, has faced repeated criticism of its management of services homes. An NAO survey found that a third of military families are unhappy with their accommodation.

Many of the homes in the main MoD estate are owned by a private company but controlled by the ministry through a long-term contract that costs the Government £150 million a year.